Thank you everyone for your support for COAF 2009 and the amazing viewer stats of this blog!

We are immensely heartened to know that YOU want to know more on poverty issues!

When is it?
Service Learning week (20-23 October 2009)

Where is it?
This year, it will be held at the Koi Pond.

What is it?
COAF is an annual fair where various MDG-linked SL groups will set up individual booths to showcase their project. It is also during this time that these SL groups start recruiting juniors who are interested in carrying on their project for the next year. RGS ONE Chapter will also be recruiting new members this way, so those who are interested may sign up with us during COAF!

Also, we will be selling ONE merchandise during the event!

Take some time off to view the booths. We ensure you that it’ll be a rewarding experience!

RGS will be having our very own Stand Up Take Action on 20th October, THAT’S NEXT TUESDAY!

To show your support, here’s what you can do:
1. Attend morning assembly
2. Wear a school approved WHITE t-shirt and culottes
3. Recite a short pledge led by RGS ONE Chapter

It’s THAT EASY!

Good news everyone!
Remember us going around the school some time ago to capture you showing your support for Stand Up Take Action?
Well, the banner is done and up!
It will be proudly placed at the parade square starting next tuesday , 20th October. Do spend some time looking at the banner (and maybe, try spotting your faces amongst the hundreds.)

We are having our first ever ONE Shot Against Poverty at Raffles Girls’ School Secondary this coming Monday to Wednesday, 28Sep-30Sep!

The RGS ONE team will be going around the school with our mighty cameras and capturing you giving your Shot in advocating for world leaders to keep to their promises in eradicating global poverty.

Your photo will be part of a large photo mosaic banner that will be unveiled to the school on 19th October, when the whole school stands up for a cause.

Keep a look out for the RGS ONE and be sure to give your Shot!

How it all began…

When Trevor Patzer was growing up in Ketchum, Idaho, he received an unusual offer from family friend Ric Ohrstrom: get admitted to New Hampshire’s prestigious St. Paul’s School, and Mr. Ohrstrom would foot the entire bill for his schooling there.

Mr. Patzer was accepted and graduated three years later. He says the experience of someone offering to pay for his high-school education had a profound effect on him, and the gift was always in the back of his mind, even as he moved to college and into the work world.

During one of his vacations in 1998, he decided to visit Nepal and see “the biggest mountain in the world.” While there, Mr. Patzer had another life-changing experience and it had little to do with the majestic awe of Mount Everest.

His tour guide for the trip was Usha Acharya, an author and the wife of Nepal’s former ambassador to the United Nations. While they took in various historic sites together, she talked to Mr. Patzer about the plight of poor children in Nepal. He decided on the spot that he wanted to fund the education of a Nepalese child, in the same spirit Mr. Ohrstrom had funded his education.

Mr. Patzer and Ms. Acharya then went ahead and founded the nonprofit, the Little Sisters Fund, which provides long-term scholarships to girls in Southeast Asia.

From paying for the education of the first girl, whose name was Bindhaya, the organization has grown and today, it is  providing long-term scholarships to more than 700 girls and the Fund will continue to grow proportionately with the commitment of additional resources.

How the fund works…

By supporting the Little Sisters Fund, a sponsor insures one girl’s education for 8-10 years –the equivalent of a U.S. high school graduate – in her quest for knowledge.  In doing so, the sponsor not only changes a girl’s life through the gift of an education, but they give the Little Sisters opportunity. And most importantly, hope.

Please take a little time off to view this half hour documentary showing a day in the life of three Nepalese girls —Shanta, Pragya and Karuna. Their stories give context to the plight of women in Nepal and the invaluable role education plays in ending the cycle of female oppression.

The Little Sisters Fund (raiser) from NonFiction Media on Vimeo.

International Women’s Day is celebrated all around the world on the 8th of March in appreciation of women’s achievements and to remind all about how women have been able to attain their status in today’s society.

In lieu with IWD on 8th March, RGS ONE chapter sold a variety of flowers on 6-7th March to principals, teachers and students of RGS as well as RGS alumni who came back to the school to attend RGS 130th Founder’s Day Homecoming Dinner.

Everyone was encouraged to purchase a flower or two to show their appreciation for the important women in their lives. The response to the flower sales were very encouraging and over the short 2 days, RGS ONE chapter was able to raise a total sum of $528.65.

All proceeds will go towards the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (H.O.M.E.)- a registered society responding to the needs of foreign communities  in Singapore by campaigning against the abuse of foreign domestic workers.

Rounding up preparations the night before

Taking a break at the booth

To learn more about International Women’s Day, go to http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

ONE is an international campaign and advocacy organization backed by people from around the world and every walk of life who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. In response to this initiative, ONE (Singapore) was founded in 2005 and is dedicated to raising public awareness and taking concrete actions to Make Poverty History.

RGS ONE Chapter was established in support of this movement. This year, we aim not only to advocate for the people who are suffering from poverty and illness, but also to physically reach out to them. We strive to bring the efforts of this international operation to locals who need our help.

Every three seconds a child dies from extreme poverty. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The resources and technology exist in the world today to transform the hopes and dreams of an entire generation into reality. At ONE, we believe the fight against poverty is not about charity, but about justice and equality. Every single human being deserves to live a life where they can at least obtain basic amenities like potable water.

Our team is honored to be part of a greater movement of people and organizations working to end poverty throughout the world, and we hope that you will join us in this cause.

  The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (H.O.M.E.) The charity is a registered society that looks into the welfare and rights of migrant workers in Singapore. It provides food and shelter to destitute female and male migrant workers, of which, many are abused domestic workers. It also offers assistance to workers who experience abuse and injustice. The shelter is currently running on a scarce supply of public donations. Should they run out, these workers will have no place to go to.

To start the year off, we will be organizing a series of exciting events in line with International Women’s Day. We are selling flowers at an affordable price for you to give to Important Women of Your Life on the 6th March 2009. A small note will be attached for you to write your heartfelt thanks to those women that made an impact in your life.

Funds raised will go to

In addition to the sale of flowers, we will be giving out heart-shaped papers for you to wirte your words of encouragement for the abused domestic workers.

We earnestly hope that you can join us in this cause and give us your fullest support .

sincerely,

RGS ONE Chapter

WHY STAND UP?

In 2000, leaders all around the world signed the Millenium Declaration, a global effort to halve poverty by 2015 and eradicate it completely by 2025. It is now 2008, with more than half the time to reach these targets gone, and these goals are nowhere near being reached – and worse yet, disturbingly often we regress instead of progress.

The thing is, we’re not reaching these goals not because we don’t have the means to do so. The world is richer and progressing more rapidly than ever before, and theoretically, this should be the best time for us to set things straight in this world. But the world’s governments – the same ones who signed the Millenium Declaration 8 years ago – are shirking their promised commitments with disastrous consequences: in this “modern” day and age, poverty claims the lives of 50 000 people daily.

We have the power to change this. We have the power to stand up to this injustice; to take action against the blatant injustice of poverty and make a difference in the lives of billions in the generations to come. Stand Up, Take Action lets us do just that.

HOW CAN I STAND UP?

Here in RGS, we’re making things easy for you: on Friday, Oct 17, the entire school will be gathered in the parade square in the morning to take our stand against poverty together*. You don’t have to prepare anything – all you have to do is recite a pledge, led by a member of ONE (RGS).

All you need to do is STAND UP!

*Of course, you do always have the option of not participating if you so wish. But do keep in mind that should you feel hesitant to participate, we’re more than willing to listen to any concerns and clarify any doubts you may have before the event.

Other questions:

What else can I do?

What can I do outside RGS?

How can I participate beyond SUTA?

How can I get related merchandise?

Where can I find out more?